Reviews by ablaze:

Beautiful semi-dark brown with a reddish-orange hue. Head is frothy and short-lived and leaves moderate lacing.

Alcohol is readily apparent and fruity. Rich and perfumy cloves, with oak and dark cherries hanging in the background.

Taste is spicy and sweet. Rich cherries and oak once again, alongside a soft, light and oily texture.

This is a sweet and woody Belgian that starts off delicate, but is ultimately quite cloying. Rich and somewhat complex, I would treat it as a digestif with some light chocolate or fresh fruit (chocolate fondue maybe?). A nice cheese would go really well, a creamy havarti or a bold blue.

Delicious but it can be excessive and slightly off-putting. Similarities to a rich sherry.

More User Reviews:

Pours a medium brown with a blooming head that leaves some great lacing,aroma is orangy and softly spiced.Taste as well has nice orange flavor with some real nice spicey notes.A light sour note in the finish that actually went well with the malty sweetness of this beer.a classic and joy to drink.

Appearance  Nice brown color with a tinge of orange and a gorgeous, thick head.

Smell  This one has a musty malty orange aroma and a plethora of fruits. I can pick up oranges, cherries, and plums along with various types of melons and maybe some raspberries.

Taste  This is a mouthful. The fruits are exceptionally chewy and come out in the taste complimented with table sugar. The malt base is well blended as if it was soaked in the fruit mixture for a week. The finish finds the orange syrup with a very mild cinnamon spicing.

Mouthfeel  Very creamy and smooth with little carbonation. This ale is medium-bodied and shows just the slightest hint of the 8.0 ABV.

Pours into the brewerys glass a dirty, nontransparent red oak color. Froth is thin and short lived. Aroma is peppery with a surprising amount of sour lemon peel, cloves, and banana. Taste is fermented dark fruit such as cherries, plums, and also some melon. Pepper is evident as well. Mouth feel is medium bodied, light and tingly on the lips and tongue although it becomes chewy as it warms. Drinkability suffers slightly from fruitiness. There is simply so much big fruit. Its overwhelming. ABV is covered fairly well but some shows through. Very good but not outstanding.

A: A deep copper with a red hue and decent clarity. The head is a long lasting off-white foam that leaves a fine lacing on the glass.

S: Like caramel coated prunes soaked in alcohol with a medium-strong fruit aroma of dark dried fruit with a medium caramel malt sweetness. There is a medium-low floral alcohol aroma and a low spice aroma.

T: A fairly sweet and fruit beer with rich dark fruit flavor, mostly of prunes and plums with some raisins. There is a medium-strong malt sweetness with medium-low chocolate and some caramel character. The alcohol is a prominent feature of the flavor especially towards the end bring some additional sweetness. There is definitely a moderate Belgian character there with more of the pepper coming through and fruit getting lost under the dark fruit flavors. The finish is sweet and the aftertaste is a quick to finish fruity and caramel flavor.

M: A medium-full bodied beer with a strong level of carbonation. A substantial amount of warmth.

O: A very good beer with a strong fruit character, a fair amount of sweetness and some spice. A good example of the style.

A: Almost opaque body with snowy white head. Pour yields a big glorious head but it doesnt last, does leave nice spider webs all down the glass though.

S: green apple, butter, brown sugar

T: smooth with a very balanced sweet malt. Body is a little thin but a rich creaminess follows it up to help fill out the mouthfeel. Alcohol is evident but not a problem. Finishes creamy with loads of green apple (must be a house yeast by product because its extremely obvious in their portfolio), some pear, chocolate. sugar lingers on the finish.

M: Very easy drinking, good weight, medium bodied but coats the mouth well.

very nice brew. not overly serious or complex like some of thier other styles but delicious and highly drinkable. Kick ass beer.

The label says Gouden Carolus - Carolus D'or but labels it as 8.5% Classic so I am assuming this is the "classic" version. Attractive labeling with some history of the brewery on the side.

Pours a dark, ruddy brown color with a ruby hue and a gorgeous 2-fingered frothy head leaving behind mass amounts of lacing. The aroma is of bananas, dark fruits like plums, dates, some brown sugar, maple syrup, yeast, caramel, tropical fruitiness, cherries, just extremely complex. So many subtleties all mixed in together. Then the taste gets even more complex. Tastes of banana esters of yeast, plums, raisins, toffee, clove, vanilla, candies, extremely ripe dark fruits...it has it all. Just amazing. With an alcohol% of 8.5, you would NEVER guess. The ABV is extremely well disguised. Mouthfeel is airy and slippery on the tongue. Medium-Heavy bodied with moderate carbonation, not too much. This is one of THE best Belgian Strong Dark Ales I have ever had. Every sip brings about new delicious flavors and nuances. I am amazed at how well crafted this brew is. A+

Belgian bomber, caged and corked. No freshness/brewing date/vintage info to be had. Opened with just a mild "poof", then pours into my Belgian tulip, dark mahogany, short lived dark tan head, that leaves better then average, sticky,extensive and splotchy lacing. The pungent nose is of sweet raisins,vanilla, light rum and also some cola. Plenty of flavor and complexity packed into this one. Notes of rum soaked raisins, more cola, sweet sugary malts. Hops well in the rear. High quality, but not quite world class BSDA.

Poured into an Affligem goblet. A dark, opaque ruby-brown hue, with about a half inch of pillowy head that dissolved quickly into little islands and a ring. Some lacing, but not much.

The nose is rich and malty, with notes of grapes, raisins, toffee and crystallized fruit. A bit of yeast character as well.

This brew is terrific! Malty and fruity, with notes of grapes, pear and cherry. Toffee and caramel in the mix as well. Finishes dry and tart with a touch of hop character. The alcohol comes in to play here, but it doesn't detract. Reminds me very much of Affligem Dubbel. A great sipper.

Silky and smooth, with only light carbonation. Went down amazingly well; if I had a few more of them, they'd go down fast.

Just a terrific BSPA, enjoyable from start to finish. I tend to like sweeter strong ales, and this one truly did it for me.